Emily Shang: Yale COVID Policies
A walk through a Yale dining hall is like a walk down memory lane. It's a flashback to a time when large group gatherings were not cringed at and masks were not commonplace. Indeed, enjoying a meal with friends inherently means that masks must come off and social distancing must be paused. But the dining halls are not the only place where Yale's masking rules are paused. Dormitory hallways and bathrooms are also places reminiscent of what a pre-pandemic college experience was like. These spaces, in addition to outdoor gatherings and walks, are not required to be masked. They also make up the overwhelming majority of students' time on campus. So, despite Yale's masking policy post-COVID, how much do students truly mask?
Despite all the masking liberties students take on a daily basis, when it comes to academic privileges like traveling for debate tournaments or community outreach programs for minors, Yale is strict. Logistically this makes sense — most of Yale's campus is required to be vaccinated and undergo strict regular testing. Yale can't require the same of other universities' students or of the greater New Haven community. However, minor inconsistencies within Yale’s Covid policies are clearly present. Allowing dining halls to fully reopen but not allowing unmasking when alone in a collaborative space, begs the question: how bad is the Delta variant? Have we really beaten COVID-19? Are Yale's policies adequate or too strict?
The Delta variant of COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 first emerged in India in December 2020. Due to its high efficacy and infection rates, the Delta variant has now become the predominant form of SARS-CoV-2 in most countries including the US. Believed to be twice as contagious as its predecessor and more likely to lead to more severe symptoms, it poses a threat to unvaccinated and vaccinated people alike.
With the staggering statistic that 99.9% of Yale's student body are vaccinated, some may believe that Yalies are beyond the reach of SARS-CoV-2, Delta or not. This is true to an extent. The Delta variant's primary divergence in amino acid sequence is P681R. This notation indicates that the proline at the 681st amino acid of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is changed to an arginine. The P681R mutation of the Delta variant is located at a furin cleavage site which is a specific sequence of amino acids present in other viruses. This furin cleavage site is responsible for heightened infectivity because it allows for the host cell's enzyme, furin, to cleave the virus and create more efficient infection units. Thus, Delta's relative, SARS-CoV-2 Alpha also has a critical mutation at the 681st amino acid (P681H). Delta, however, is 40% more transmissible than Alpha and is far more populated across the globe. This phenomenon indicates that Delta's efficient infections cannot be solely attributed to its one mutation but rather a large picture of many mutations.
According to CG Covid Interface, P681R has been observed with numerous other popular mutations in the spike protein over thousands of instances. These mutations include D614G which is in the first subunit of the spike protein and is the most popular Covid mutation (P681H is an extremely close second); T19R, T95I, EFR156G, and G142D of the N-terminal domain which is also present in the first subunit; T478K and L452R of the receptor binding domain; D950N of the Heptatide repeat sequence. The mutations on the receptor binding domain are especially notable since they occur on areas sensitive to change due to their need of specificity of the ACE2 receptor. Furthermore, the two most common mutations within the receptor binding domain are both conversions to more basic amino acids lysine and arginine which could lead to structural questions of these basic sidechains' role in recognition and binding. Due to P681R's association with these mutations and more, it is likely that most of the most prevalent mutations contribute to the high infectivity of Delta and Alpha that we see today.
But what do these mutations mean for the efficacy of the vaccine? While structural studies of mutations indicate that these mutations make vaccines less effective, how much less effective? Do the 99.9% of vaccinated individuals at Yale still make a case for low Covid risk? According to a correspondence published in the New England Journal of Medicine on individuals who had received the Pfizer vaccine, the Moderna vaccine, and had previously been infected with Covid-19 before, the Delta variant was 2.9 times less susceptible to neutralization by antibodies. The study concluded that although vaccinated individuals are more susceptible to Delta than they are to the original strain, all vaccinated individuals exhibited signs of neutralization, and "protective immunity is likely retained" even with the new strains of SARS-CoV-2.
Yale boasts low numbers of student infection rates, even with the holes students punch in their indoor masking rules. And with 99.9% of the student body vaccinated, perhaps we see exactly why communal living at Yale hasn't led to skyrocketing Covid cases. While mutational studies of SARS-CoV-2 indicate that the pandemic is far from over and that individuals should exercise caution to protect themselves, the inconsistencies among Yale's policies in turning a blind eye to wide unmasking should lead to more liberal allowances in Yale’s Covid policies. While Yale shouldn't open its gates to unmasked social gatherings indoors, Yale should consider making allowances for more fruitful academic opportunities, especially for clubs who have been forced to move activities and competitions online. Physical academic opportunities are as important as physical social opportunities in a well-rounded college experience — well worth the risk Yalies are already taking in dining halls every day.
Emily Shang is a first year in Timothy Dwight College